Roof issue at Lucas Oil Stadium resolved, CIB says

The retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium has been repaired after a system malfunction prevented it from opening for the Indianapolis Colts’ preseason opener Sunday.

A Capital Improvement Board spokesperson told IBJ that technicians replaced a faulty component in the roof’s operating system that was “reporting a non-existent issue,” resulting in the roof not being able to move. The roof opened successfully on Monday afternoon as part of post-repair testing.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay this weekend initially announced on X that the roof and the northern window at the stadium would be open for the team’s game against the Denver Broncos, but later clarified that the roof would remain closed “due to a mechanical issue.”

Monica Brase, public information and marketing manager for the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, both of which are operated by the CIB, said no additional repairs to the roof are expected to be required.

“The software utilized to operate the retractable roof is designed to identify potential mechanical issues before they become actual mechanical issues,” Brase said in response to questions from IBJ, noting that the software can prevent the roof from opening if it determines an examination is necessary.

“Our maintenance contractor remotely accesses our roof software system and we were in coordination with them all morning [Sunday] in an effort to diagnose the issue and resolve it, but we obviously ran out of time and made the decision to announce that we would keep the roof closed.”

Prior to this weekend’s issue, the roof was last open July 12, following a three-day annual inspection from July 9-11. The CIB said its costs for the roof upkeep vary annually, although its maintenance agreement with the Colts allows for about $50,600 in parts and labor costs each year.

Pete Ward, chief operating officer for the Colts, said the roof problem was a “bummer” given the weather—77 degrees and sunny. The roof isn’t opened if there’s any chance of rain, because the inside of the stadium is not fully waterproof.

“It was just the perfect day for the roof to be open, so it was a bummer, but I’m fully confident it’ll be fixed and up and running in time for the next time” the weather is appropriate, he said.

Ward said Sunday was the first time in his memory a roof issue has affected a Colts game in the 17 seasons the venue has been in use.

The installation of the retractable roof has been a point of contention for some fans and city watchers at times over the years. The stadium cost $720 million to build, including at least $620 million in local and state tax dollars. Most of the debt for the stadium is still outstanding.

While Brase said the CIB “can’t put an exact number” on what it cost to incorporate the roof into the stadium, Ward said he was told during the design process that it cost about $40 million.

However, he said, the Colts opted to move ahead with that expenditure in favor of spending money elsewhere in the stadium to ensure the retractable roof was part of the project. He said if ownership and the CIB had decided against the design, the $40 million would have likely been spent elsewhere in the stadium, such as on additional suites or premium areas.

The roof at has been open for about 38 games, or 29%, of the Colts’ 130 regular-season home games at Lucas Oil Stadium.